Horse Profiles

“He’s a little horse with the heart of a lion” was how owner Michael O’Leary described Tiger Roll after he had just held on, by an ever-diminishing head, to win the Grand National in 2018. At just 15.2 hands, Tiger Roll is diminutive for a racehorse, of any description, never mind a steeplechaser, but that hasn’t stopped him from recording some remarkable, high-profile successes over the years.

Originally owned by Sheikh Mohammed, he was sold, for a fraction of his original purchase price, as an unraced 3-year-old and made his racecourse debut in a five-runner juvenile hurdle at Market Rasen in November, 2013. He won and was subsequently sold again, at a substantial premium, to his current connections, with a view to winning the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. Instead, Tiger Roll won the Grade One Triumph Hurdle and, although he subsequently struggled in conditions races over hurdles – including the Stayers’ Hurdle in 2015 – he was yet to fulfil his potential.

Sent over fences in the summer of 2016, he won three times en route to the Cheltenham Festival where, despite jumping less than fluently, he stayed on strongly to win the National Hunt Challenge Cup under amateur rider Lisa O’Neill. After three preparatory runs in late 2017, including a ‘sighter’ in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase at Cheltenham, he was back at the Festival the following March, this time winning the conditions version of the race under Keith Donoghue. Exactly one month later, Tiger Roll was in the winners’ enclosure at Aintree, having been ridden by winning jockey Davy Russell for just the third time in his lfe.

Traditionally, Grand National winners have tended to struggle to win again after victory at Aintree, but not so Tiger Roll. After a promising reappearance in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase at Cheltenham in November, 2018, he took advantage of his lenient hurdling mark – 19lb lower than his ‘chasing mark – to win the Grade Two Boyne Hurdle at Navan by 4 lengths, eased down, at odds of 25/1. Still only a 9-year-old, he is currently favourite for the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National, so there may yet be more to come from the ‘little horse’.

American Thoroughbred racehorse Affirmed, was the eleventh winner of the United States Triple Crown.

The winner of 14 Grade I stakes, victories during Affirmed’s three-season track career included the Hollywood Juvenile Championship, the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the California Stakes, Strub Stakes and Hollywood Gold Cup. He was named champion horse in every season he started, clinching the American Horse of the Year title in 1978 and 1979.

His biggest achievement was arguably winning the 1978 Triple Crown, taking victory in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. It was a 37 years before American Pharoah became the next winner in 2015.

Affirmed enjoyed a famous rivalry with arch-rival Alydar, meeting 10 times during their careers and came out on top in 7 out of 10 of the head-to-heads, though the victories were at times by the smallest of margins. Their final race was marred by controversy, after Affirmed crossed the line ahead of Alydar, but was disqualified by the stewards after cutting towards the rail in the backstretch. Victory was then handed to his rival.

Bred at Louis E. Wolfson’s Harbor View Farm in Florida, Affirmed boasted an impressive pedigree. He was sired by Exclusive Native, a high-class racehorse and breeding stallion whose other off-spring included Kentucky Derby winner, Genuine Risk and his grandsire was the undefeated Thoroughbred racehorse, Raise a Native.

As a stud, Affirmed was just as successful and siring over 80 stakes winners and 9 champions including Charlie Barley, Flawlessly, and Arlington Million winner, The Tin Man.

Record-breaking American champion Thoroughbred Zenyatta is regarded as one of the top race horses of all time.

In an incredible 20-race career, Zenyatta was victorious in 19 consecutive starts including 17 graded stakes races. Accolades collected by the Thoroughbred during her illustrious career include the American Horse of the Year, 2010, the William H. May Award, 2011 and the American Champion Older Female Horse in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Some of her most noted victories came in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, 2008, the Breeders’ Cup Classic, 2009 and was the three times winner of the Vanity Handicap, the Clement Hirsch Handicap and the Lady’s Secret Stakes. The latter was renamed in her honour in 2012.

Owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, Zenyatta was sired by 2002 Dubai Cup winner, Street Car and racemare, Vertigineux. Her lineage includes undefeated 1963 champion two-year-old colt, Raise a Native and celebrated sire Kris S.

After making her debut in 2007, it was confirmed in 2010 that she would be retiring from the track. While Zenyatta has since foaled four times, it has been with limited success. She last delivered a foal in 2017 from Medaglia d’Oro after a year off from breeding.

Hugely popular with racing fans, Zenyatta claimed the NTRA’s moment of the Year Award for three between 2008 and 2010. She was also featured in O and W Magazines and appeared in a profile on 60 Minutes.

In 2015 Zenyatta was induced into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Three-times Champion Hurdle, Persian war was a British National Hunt Horse who is considered one of the best hurdlers of his era.

Once heralded as “the ultimate champion” by one of his trainer, the renowned Colin Davis, Persian War dominated British hurdles in the late 1960s and swept to victory in the Triumph Hurdle, Welsh Champion Hurdle and Irish Sweeps Hurdle. During his career, out of 51 starts over hurdles, Persian War won 18 and was second in 9.

The grandsire of Triple Crown winner Bahram, Persian War was bred at the Astor Stud. His dam, Warning, was the daughter of Champion sire and Coronation Cup winner, Chanteur. Despite his pedigree, Persian War didn’t immediately appear to be anything special and after racing in two flat races, was sold as a three-year-old.

It was under this new ownership that Persian War made his hurdling debut at Ascot in October 1966, finishing an impressive second. In his next race, the Toll House Juvenile Hurdle, he had showed considerable improvement and won by fifteen lengths. He followed that with wins at Newbury, before being sold again.

It quickly became obvious that Persian War was one of the best ever hurdlers in British racing history. He continued began to dominate the hurdling season and winning the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, three years in a row.

A string of injuries saw his form decline during the early 1970s and Persian War eventually retired in 1974 after injuring his leg during training. He spent the rest of his days at Genesis Green Stud.